Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Foundation Beyond Belief Raises Record Funds

This morning I sent out the first press release I’ve written for the Foundation Beyond Belief, to announce the results of the first year of fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. And those results were pretty incredible. Below the fold, that entire press release:Humanists Raise Record Funds to Fight Leukemia and Lymphoma

$430,000 raised in 2012; $500,000 the 2013 goal

(Raleigh, NC) – Foundation Beyond Belief announced this morning that its Light The Night Walk Team raised $430,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society last year, the largest amount ever raised by a first year non-corporate team and the 4th largest amount raised by any team in the nation in 2012, including corporate teams.

This record-breaking total was made possible by the tremendous commitment of 150 local teams, more than any other organization, made up of thousands of humanists all over the United States and Canada, and by a pledge from the Stiefel family to match the total raised by the FBB teams.

Todd Stiefel, International Team Captain for the Foundation Beyond Belief Light The Night Walk Team, was jubilant over the extraordinary achievement. “I am thrilled with the record breaking results the humanist community achieved in its first year partnering with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,” he said. “I am even more excited about the prospect of beating that mark in 2013 as we turn this into an annual tradition of charitable investment in the curative powers of science.”

“We have one goal: A world without blood cancers,” said Liza Munson, senior vice president of campaign development for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). “LLS depends on donors and partners, such as FBB, who join us and generously support us with funding to advance research to discover breakthrough therapies for patients with blood cancers – ones that are saving lives today. Over 1300 walkers on the FBB team raised a remarkable $430,000. We are grateful for FBB’s successful fund-raising campaign in 2012, their first year of supporting LLS, and we deeply appreciate their continued support as they kick off their 2013 campaign.”

Efforts are already underway to increase the number of local LTN teams from 150 to 200. FBB has set a goal of raising $500,000 in 2013, once again with the help of a matching donation from the Stiefel family. Also allied with FBB in this effort are a number of other atheist, secular and humanist groups, including: American Atheists, American Ethical Union, American Humanist Association, Atheist Alliance of America, Camp Quest, Center For Inquiry, Centre For Inquiry Canada, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy & Alumni, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, Secular Student Alliance, Society for Humanistic Judaism, and United Coalition of Reason.

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For the first year, this was all done to honor Christopher Hitchens. In year two, the honored hero is our own Greta Christina, who successfully battled cancer a few months ago. And guess what? You can help. We had 150 local teams raising money last year and we’re going to have even more this year. For more information, click here. This is a big deal, I think. We’re showing the world that atheists and humanists can come together to do something good and important to make the world just a little bit better place.